A London court has ruled against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in a personal loan guarantee dispute, ordering him to pay Bank of India approximately $11.5 million — roughly Rs 108 crore — in principal and accumulated interest. The judgment, delivered by Justice Simon Tinkler of the London Circuit Commercial Court, settles a case that Bank of India had been fighting since 2018.

The dispute centres on a loan extended to Firestar Diamond FZE, a Dubai-based company linked to Modi. He had personally guaranteed the loan, but later attempted to have that guarantee declared legally void. Justice Tinkler rejected that argument, ruling that under Indian law, Modi's personal guarantee is neither null nor unenforceable. A demand notice sent to him in October 2025 was found to be entirely valid.

The principal amount owed stands at $4.1 million — around Rs 34.3 crore. With interest accrued up to March 2026, the total liability has climbed to $11.5 million, and the figure will continue to grow.

Milan Kapadia of Fladgate LLP, the law firm representing Bank of India, was careful to draw a distinction: this case is a commercial banking recovery matter and has no connection to the much larger Punjab National Bank fraud involving approximately $2 billion, for which Modi faces criminal charges in India. Bank of India has pursued this separate civil recovery through UK courts for over seven years.

Modi has been in a London prison for seven years, fighting extradition to India on three fronts — a CBI case related to the PNB scam, an Enforcement Directorate money laundering case, and a third CBI charge of tampering with witnesses and evidence. Then-UK Home Secretary Priti Patel had approved his extradition in April 2021, but successive bail applications and appeals have kept him in legal limbo since.

In March this year, Modi lost what was widely seen as his last viable attempt to block extradition in UK courts, after his claim of facing torture risk in Indian custody was rejected. He has since reportedly taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights in France, where proceedings are currently ongoing.

The London court's latest ruling adds another layer to an already complicated legal picture. Even as Modi battles extradition, civil creditors are now extracting recoveries through British courts — a sign that multiple tracks of accountability are advancing simultaneously, independent of the criminal proceedings in India.

The domestic bullion market witnessed a massive correction on Wednesday as gold and silver prices plunged sharply within a single trading session. According to data released by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), silver prices plummeted by ₹5,448 in a single day, dragging the metal down to ₹2.22 lakh per kilogram. This marks a staggering wealth erosion of over ₹16,000 for silver within a mere 48-hour window.

Concurrently, 24-carat gold prices slid by ₹2,817, settling at ₹1.42 lakh per 10 grams, down from its recent stable threshold of ₹1.45 lakh.

This sharp correction caps off a broader downward trajectory recorded throughout the month. In June alone, gold prices have retreated by ₹14,285 per 10 grams, while silver has dropped by a massive ₹41,315 per kilogram. For perspective, on June 1, gold was trading at ₹1.56 lakh per 10 grams, and silver hovered at a historic high of ₹2.63 lakh per kilogram.

Telegram Services Restored Following Temporary Examination Ban

In a major development for millions of digital users, instant messaging platform Telegram has bounced back online across India after a seven-day localized freeze. The Central government had temporarily restricted the app and its associated web services until June 22 following an administrative storm involving the circulation of leaked and counterfeit National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination papers.

Following the smooth conclusion of the NEET re-examination, the temporary regulatory embargo was lifted. While the application surfaced back on the Google Play Store on Tuesday morning, server stabilization issues persisted as several users reported download timeouts and configuration bottlenecks initially.

Sources close to the IT ministry indicated that while regular communication has been greenlit, a strict administrative freeze on the platform's 'Message Edit' feature will remain enforced until June 30 to prevent structural data tampering during active investigations.

Global Markets: Brent Crude Falls Below $75 on US-Iran Peace Talks

The international energy landscape underwent a decisive shift as global crude oil benchmarks crashed by over 3% on Wednesday. The sell-off was triggered by emerging reports of a potential diplomatic breakthrough and peace accord between the United States and Iran.

For the first time since the escalation of geopolitical hostilities in the Middle East, Brent crude futures breached the floor of $75 per barrel, dropping by $2.32 to settle at $74.76.

Simultaneously, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contract slipped by $2.17, or 2.96%, to trade at $71.04 per barrel. This sudden cooling of energy prices comes despite massive maritime logistics movement, with data indicating that over 19 million barrels of crude cleared the strategic Strait of Hormuz during the same tracking period.

Musk’s Net Worth Erases ₹33.13 Lakh Crore in One Week

Fresh off the milestone of becoming the world's inaugural trillionaire, tech mogul Elon Musk logged his sharpest personal net worth contraction in historical terms. A brutal 16% correction in the private valuation shares of his aerospace enterprise, SpaceX, wiped out nearly $350 billion (approx ₹33.13 lakh crore) from his portfolio in a single week.

According to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires index, Musk’s total valuation compressed from a peak of $1.4 trillion down to $1.1 trillion (₹104.15 lakh crore). Despite the unprecedented velocity of this financial hit, Musk comfortably retains his position at the apex of global wealth charts.

London High Court Orders Nirav Modi to Pay ₹108 Crore to Bank of India

In legal developments unfolding overseas, the London High Court has directed fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi to pay $1.15 million (equivalent to roughly ₹108 crore) to the Bank of India (BoI).

The judicial mandate stems from a recovery suit tied to personal loan guarantees executed by Modi for a Dubai-based shell entity, Firestar Diamond FZE, alongside accumulated penal interest. The diamantaire has been lodged in a London prison facility for the past seven years, actively contesting the Indian government's legal extradition proceedings.

Noel Tata Announces Exit as Trent Chairman

Domestically, corporate major Tata Group is set for a leadership transition as Noel Tata formally announced his decision to step down from his executive position as the Chairman of Trent Limited. Addressing shareholders during the firm's 74th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, Noel Tata confirmed, "As you may be aware, this will be my last annual general meeting as the Chairman."

Under his decades-long stewardship, Trent transitioned from a solitary retail outlet in Bengaluru to a dominant fashion powerhouse operating 1,286 stores nationwide, serving as the corporate parent for high-performing retail formats like Westside and Zudio.